Tuesday November 4, 2025
The staff lined up as we left the Red Canal Hotel for the drive to Bagan.
It was a rainy day, and we made some stops
that weren’t on the schedule, so we didn’t arrive around noon as planned. (it was almost 5:00) As we
drove through Mandalay we saw many motorcycles with families on them. The cost
to buy a car is astronomical for most so they get motorcycles instead. We also
passed kids selling things to collect money for Halloween candy at toll booths or
alongside the road.
We went through many villages with kids
waving at us. Of course, there were plenty of cows and dogs in the street to
dodge. It was mostly farmland. We also came across a funeral. Unfortunately,
the rain wasn’t good for taking photos on the drive to Bagan.
Myint Swe told us stories of his
childhood. How rough his family had it as a child. He also explained how
children were named. There are no last names, and the names are generally a
combination of the first letter of the day of the week they were born and a
word that is descriptive like strong or pretty. Generally, they are two- or
three-word long names.
His parents are both deceased and he
came from a large family. He felt he always got hand-me-downs and rough
scratchy clothes. He lived in a monastery 3 times; 2 as a novice and 1 as a
monk. He really looked back fondly on those times as he had friends his own age
and his own comfortable robe.
One experience he shared was he had a
tour group grom Australia and they invited him to visit, and he stayed with
various members. It’s the only time he had been out of the country, and it gave
him the opportunity to see how much better it was there than Myanmar.
I slept most of the way……before and after lunch.
Since we were out in the middle of
nowhere there really wasn’t a choice of where to go for lunch. It poured really
hard while we were at lunch and was done by the time we were back on the road,
but it meant lots of standing water in the road. Guide bought our drinks and
shared his sesame cookies with us at a rest stop earlier in the day. I think this was the stop where Myint Swe opened up a bag of potato chips and started the meal with those as he figured the lunch might not be great. They were a hit and he wasn't wrong about the lunch.
There were quite a few checkpoints on the drive between districts. Myint Swe thought we should visit a Palm Sugar Candy Factory. Sap is harvested from toddy palms, especially around Bagan, boiled down from a clear syrup to a caramel-like solid sold in bite-sized blocks as a sweet snack or used in cooking for color and flavor, sometimes mixed with coconut or sesame for a distinct Burmese taste. Oh, and they make palm wine.
Nyaung-U is about 4 km from Old Bagan,
and we stopped there to visit Sulamani Phaya, a stunning representation of
ancient Burmese architecture and spirituality. The frescos were amazing and as
we circled the interior the Buddha statues were incredible. It was built in 1183 AD by
King Narapati Sithu, at the peak of the Pagan Empire. The name means
"Small Ruby," referencing a gem found at the site.
We got checked into Aureum Palace Hotel & Resort and had dinner. It was a beautiful property, and the food was very good. So far, judging from the food in Mandalay we hadn't been impressed. The guide did tell us that the food would improve once we left Mandalay.
Photo album: Mandalay to Bagan https://photos.app.goo.gl/it1pXuyUfAqe65ki9
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